Did you know that the most expensive coin ever sold is a silver one? Yes, the Flowing Hair Silver-Coin dollar minted in 1974 or 1975 was the first dollar ever made in the Federal mint of the United States and was sold for a staggering 10 million US dollars in 2013. Impressive, huh? Here’s all about it on this link.
Not all of us can say aloud that we spent 10 million on a silver coin, but we all can get in the game of buying silver coins dated a long time ago. The price of silver is always way lower than the one of the gold. That’s why silver coins are more affordable for people in love with numismatics. The market has a great stack of silver coins dated to more than 150 years ago and everyone can get their hands on them. History lovers adore it too. It’s kind of a big deal holding a coin from the 1800s and knowing that some local in Carson city bought something with it.
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The four main mints
Yes, The US federal mint had its main mints in four cities – Carson city, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. All of the coins minted in these different cities have a small but significant difference. These differences might not always be visible for amateurs but professional silver dealers see it right away.
If you like to buy silver coins you might be more into getting a coin minted in some of these cities instead of others. Later, other mints were included too, but these 4 holds the most minted coins.
What are the coins made in the last few centuries
Since 1974 US federal mint produces gold and silver coins. They were used as a standard currency. Until the year 1933 when President Roosevelt ordered the prohibition of using gold and silver, these coins were circulating daily. Since then, gold and silver coins are minting for collectors purposes.
Throughout history, the mints made a lot of silver coins. Here are some of the most interesting and most wanted today:
Seated Liberty dollar
Made of 90% silver and 10 copper the Seated Liberty dollar has been in production from 1840 to 1873. Depending on the quality, the price for one such dollar coin can range from $100 to a $1500.
Morgan dollar
The Morgan silver dollars were minted in all 4 major mints plus Denver. These coins were minted from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921. Their price ranges from as low as a few dollars to $100.
Gobrecht dollar
The Gobrecht dollar is very important and very expensive too. It was minted from 1936 to 1939 and it was the first silver dollar made after the Roosevelt prohibition. The price can go from around $15.000 up to 100.000. The reason for this is that these dollars were minted in very small quantities because the Federal government did not know how the public will react to the reintroducing of silver coins.
Peace dollar
The peace dollar has an interesting story. After World War I, the public demanded the dollar to have a peace symbol in honor of the ending of the war. The Government did not like the idea at first but then agreed. In 1921 the Peace dollar was approved and over a million coins were struck at the end of that year. The production stopped in 1928, but was reapproved again and was minted in 1934 and 1935.
Maybe the most interesting part about the Peace dollar is that it was again minted in 1965. The Denver mint made 316.000 pieces. They were all melted back and never saw the light of day.
Silver eagle dollar
The modern coin minting is much different than the one dating before. All silver coins today are made for collectors and for numismatic purposes. Of course, people buy them as presents, but also as an investment method. One of the most popular silver coins minted in modern-day America is the Silver Eagle dollar that started production in 1986.
The dollar is made of 99.9% silver and just a pinch of copper. The price range from $20 to $30.
